WHO would be a manager?
Contrasting reactions from both Halesowen Town’s Russ Penn and Alvechurch’s Tim Flowers after two local rivals put on a show which encapsulated the full spectrum of footballing emotions.
The facts are as follows: Halesowen race into a two-goal lead thanks to goals from Conor Tee and Kieran Donnelly in a one-sided first-half.
Alvechurch are back into it within six minutes after Dan Platt could only parry a long-range shot and Dan Sweeney swoops to reduce the arrears.
Four minutes later, Ryan Wynter brings down Dylan Allen-Hadley when he’s racing through on goal.
Halesowen’s skipper is dismissed, Yeltz are dwn to ten and Krystian Pearce nets an equaliser.
Somehow, the hosts rally and the usually-reliable Donnelly wastes the best chances for the ten men to snatch a result against the odds.
It was 2-2 at the end of a frantic and dramatic 90 minutes.
Penn told Yeltz TV: “It was a fantastic first-half, I was delighted at half-time. But ten minutes of madness…the amount of times we switch off and let a team back into a game.
“It’s frightening. It’s a common theme. We need to get to the bottom of it.
“At half time, I’m disappointed we haven’t won the game. By 60 minutes, I’m delighted with a point.
“But then, saying that, we then looked like a different team. Sometimes as a manager, you concentrate too much on the negatives.
“It was a mad 10 minutes. I’m delighted with the 80 minutes in between. We competed in a good game for a draw.”
Flowers, however, always calls it as he sees it. And although there was a late compliment in his final verdit, oh to have been a fly-on-the-wall in the visitors’ dressing room at the interval.
It would not have been pretty.
He said: “I saw a team in the first half that got out-run, out-fought, out-played. Second to every first contact, second to every second ball.
“We didn’t play in the right areas, never made any headway up front, never made any runs in behind.
“I can’t remember us laying a glove on them. I think we got into their final third twice.
“At half time we were lucky it was only two-nil.
“I’ve had to say to them: ‘Don’t make me say to you now again what I’m about to say to you now.’
“I’m not going to stand there and watch that.
“Since I’ve been here, this club has built results on having a spirit and fighting hard. For 45 minutes that went out of the window. I saw people pointing fingers and bitching at each other.
“We weren’t working hard enough.
‘We had to make a change. We scored first, which was key. Then they had a lad sent off – Dylan was in and their lad has been sent off. Those are the laws of the game.
“But then we have come back from two-down away from home against a team that has been in the top five for most of the season – so I have to congratulate the boys for that.”
Next week sees the return of the No.9 derby.
Penn can’t wait. He added: “It’s a big game next Saturday.
“Going to be a big one, full house. I think we owe them one. I don’t think we got what we deserved.
“We have to be ready. It’s going to be a right ding-dong.”
